Dubai, UAE, 8 December 2023 - Prince Rahim Aga Khan, Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network’s (AKDN) Climate and Environment Committee, joined world leaders in the High Level Ministerial Dialogue for Culture-based Climate Action, at the invitation of His Excellency Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, UAE’s Minister of Culture and Youth, and His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed al Jaber, President of COP28 and UAE’s Special Envoy for Climate Change.

Prince Rahim also met with His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Her Excellency Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy, UAE’s Minister for International Cooperation, Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of State at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Sheikh Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, President of Bahrain’s Authority for Culture and Antiquities.

AKDN at COP28

AKDN is participating at COP28 to bring attention to vulnerable communities at the forefront of the climate crisis, especially around the themes of education, health, finance and resilience.

This week the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) helped launch three new initiatives at the summit. The Global Education Solutions Accelerator, in partnership with Dubai Cares, aims to fast track education transformation across 10 countries by working with a network of development and educational partners to make climate change an integral part of curricula. 

Teachersfortheplanet.org is a new online portal that features over 100 outstanding teacher-led and -tested local climate education solutions. The broader Teachers for the Planet programme aims to help put teachers at the centre of our educational response to the climate crisis.

And, in partnership with USAID and the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, AKF will receive a grant to advance climate education in Tanzania.

The Aga Khan Health Services and the Aga Khan University hosted a side event at the WHO Health Pavilion to spotlight the health sector's most significant source of carbon emissions, its supply chain, and explore how to reduce these.

HBL, Pakistan’s largest bank, announced that it has joined a global alliance including HSBC, Standard Chartered and other well-known banks to support developing countries transition to green economies. Like other AKDN institutions, HBL is committed to sustainability and green operations and aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Mountain regions are vulnerable to climate change, with lives and livelihoods impacted by shrinking glaciers and melting permafrost. To keep mountain communities high on the COP28 agenda, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) has begun launching the third season of the award-winning Voices from the Roof of the World documentary series, which gives a voice to those at the frontline of the climate change crisis. AKAH aims to show how communities can be connected to science, and how long-term climate risk and scenario assessments can be used to inform local adaptation plans.